Breakfast With Christ - Empty Spirituality
BREAKFAST WITH CHRIST
TOPIC: EMPTY SPIRITUALITY
SCRIPTURE: LUKE 10:33
"But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him."
One day, on the missionary field, a certain lawyer decided to test Jesus Christ by asking Him a very important question about how he can inherit eternal life. Jesus made him understand that he needs to love God and love his neighbor. Logically, the man again asked Jesus Christ who his neighbor is. Jesus in responding to this man narrated the story most of us know to be the story of the good Samaritan. This story teaches some very important lessons about our Christian life.
In the story, a man was robbed and injured by thieves. As the man laid there helpless, a priest and a Levite passed by, they saw the injured man but decided to walk away. A Samaritan also came by that road, he also saw the injured man and decided to help him. After the story, Jesus told the lawyer who questioned Him to go and emulate the Samaritan.
The priest and the Levite in this story represent most of us Christians today. The Priest was a Priest of God who offered sacrifices to God and communicated with God on regular basis, but when he saw a man who needed help, he walked away. The Levite came from the ordained priestly tribe of Israel yet he also ignored the injured man. So how was it that the two people who rather should have shown this injured man, true love, didn't but it had to take a Samaritan to rescue the man? The answer is simple, the priest and the Levite had spirituality without character.
To put this in proper context, per the Jewish custom, they had no relationship whatsoever with the Samaritans. The Samaritans didn't know God. Yet it was rather the Samaritan who showed this man, true love. Brethren, it is good we fast, pray and go to church. These are all spiritual acts, but our spirituality is empty if we don't show love to the people around us.
Love is always greater than spirituality. Our spirituality is our relationship with God, but the love of Christ that we reflect in our lives is what makes us Christians. If you can't forgive your neighbor who offended you, then your 21 days of fasting is of no use. A lot of us Christians today take pride in how spiritual we are but we lack the true character of Christ, ie love. Our spirituality is of no essence if we can't be kind to the people we meet.
In short, our all-night prayers and our deep spirituality are all empty without the character of Christ being seen in our lives. We are Christians, we must reflect the character of Christ, which is genuine love for mankind. Stay blessed!
Prayer line:
Father, please help me to reflect the character of Christ in my life. Help me to love and be kind to all those around me. Amen.
Further Scripture Reading
Luke 10:25-37